The Consul General of Colombia in Rome, María Mercedes Carrasquilla Barrera recently visited the laboratories of the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering at the University of Malta.

She was shown around the laboratories, which are well furnished with plant and equipment funded by the seventh Italo-Maltese protocol agreement, and more recently, the European Regional Development Fund through the project Developing an Interdisciplinary Material Testing and Rapid Prototyping R&D Facility.

During the visit the Consul General met the Dean Dr Ing. John C. Betts, academic members of staff, undergraduate students and researchers. Reference was made to the close links between the department and industry and services offered to support the latter. 

This visit was initiated thanks to a memorandum of understanding that was signed between the University of Malta and the Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia. This agreement promotes collaborative research and the exchange of students and staff between the two universities.

As a direct result of this agreement Dr Joseph Buhagiar will be giving lectures at the Universidad del Rosario in the area of biomaterials.